Wish I never lifted my truck. All sorts of noises and weirdness. Help?

Yeah I know my post is bitchy and whinny.

You're welcome.

Lifted it a couple years ago. It has under 120k on it.

 

any NLGI No.2 moly grease

recommend a lock n. lube attachment on a grease gun

 

I bet your ball joints and/or control arm bushings are worn out. And you don't have a good alignment.

 

When I lifted my truck, the heightened awareness of anything that may be wrong with the truck afterwards made me realize there was a bunch of other issues. Most weren't lift related, but the lift did make them a bit more obvious in some cases. Your sporadic stiffness and clunking all sound contained to the steering system, because I had similar issues when I realized my lower steering shaft ujoint, as well as the mid shaft bushing with the rubber isolator in the cab were both pretty well shot. The increased tie rod angles will make these issues more obvious, but isn't likely to cause them if everything was fine before. Try spraying some fluid film on your lower steering joint by the rack (not a real fix, but it will confirm the sporadic stiffness if it improves), and pull the cover by your feet off to inspect for play at the bushing. If there's play there you can try shoving zip ties in the gap, and that should help the clunk if you don't want to buy a new one. I did my whole steering system (aftermarket lower and mid shafts, OEM reman rack, and OEM tie rod ends) for maybe $400 total after I returned my rack core, and it's been absolutely perfect since then.

As for wheel bearings, mine were shot already so I did them with the lift, but a lift alone won't really effect them compared to wheel spacers or really low offset wheels. Definitely make sure to only use OEM koyos too, which can be found by their real name for slightly more than timkens on both F/R axles.

Also, my abs also broke when I did my lift, and it was just because I didn't have the front wires in a good position so they got tugged on and broke the connection. You can test with a multimeter, but I'd say there's a good chance you've got a wire getting stretched out or rubbed from the bracket positioning. That, or just a bad sensor, which isn't affected by a lift.

And one more thing: make marks on your alignment hardware and watch for shifting. The shop I got mine aligned at fucked them up and they were clunking and popping to no end untill I got beefier hardware.

I used to feel the same way as you, but once I got the kinks worked out, I never regretted my lift again.

 

A very informative and constructive comment. Way to go.

 

That intermediate shaft is a bitch. It gets rusted soo easy. Wish it had a boot.. anyway. I highly doubt your abs is because of lift. Lift only causes vibs.. which is am well aware of. I almost gave up on my truck. I thought angles were wrong, new ujoins, carrier bearing.. all new.. well. 4x4 shop said get a new driveshaft... I did.. and my vibes disappeared! Magic! Well, the ungreaseable slip joint was rusted solid.. why it vibrated like hell... soo.. ya things happen, but not what you describe.

 

that’s my thinking…It’s a 12 year old truck with some 12 year old truck things…not lift things.

 

As a fellow 2013 owner who lifted my truck less than a year ago, I agree. Being hyper aware (or paranoid) of any potential issues or noises after lots of modification tends to make pre-existing issues more noticeable.

 

The same stuff you’ve been using since you bought it

Or are you telling me you dont do basic maintenance?

 

GM dealership mechanic in a previous life....so don't get me started on brilliant engineering. Have a 2017 Taco TRD Offroad Manual. Didn't intend to lift it, but bought Fox 2.0 because I could not take another day of Bilstein trash. Installed but didn't pay a lot of attention to the location of the spring perch snap ring. It was in the middle, and so am I. So you see where this is going: the dreaded unintentional lift. Maybe an inch or so. Took it to a proper alignment shop and they sorted it out. Also replaced stock sized tires with /75s. So what's that, maybe 1.7" total altitude adjustment? Didn't change the back, so the truck sits level.
Only have 80k on it, but zero problems. Done off-road, done towing 3500 lb travel trailer, commute, long haul,snow, mud, etc.
All that said, Toyota is not family: when they make a turd, it stinks. My '88 truck had a 3.0 v6. Let's don't pretend that engine was OK. Or all the late 4 cylinders with stuck oil control rings.
However, statistically and from personal experience, Toyotas are more durable and reliable than any other truck. Not perfect; just better.
If you are having multiple problems with your truck, each has a cause. You can figure out what the causes are, or throw in the towel. Been there. The professionals won't help you. They don't have the time or inclination, and often don't have the talent.
If your lift is needed, because you live in the mountains or hunt/fish, just take your time and attack each problem. If your lift is a fashion accessory, get past that, and don't confuse your toys and your tools.

 

Lol, it's good to know you can wrench. Don't take the ball busting personally, that's what we're here for. When I replaced my lower control arm bushings, I lubed everything up really well with Red-N-Tacky, to keep the hardware from rusting and seizing up again. I had to go back and tighten my LCA hardware weekly until they stopped loosening. I did this for a month or two then finally stopped checking once they were tight for a few weeks when I checked them.
IF you do this, I recommend putting the front end on ramps so you have the weight of the vehicle on the suspension, and removal of the front skid plate makes it easier to get to the nuts/bolts.
And as stated, make sure you mark where your alignment cams are so you can reproduce the location if you lose it.

 

Same boat regret getting it lifted trying to find parts to get back to stock 2014 taco

 

I’ve spent more days working on Chevys and fords I’ve had; while my truck has only been in the shop twice

once for a transmission switch, and once to get the carrier bearing replaced. Less than 24 hours with the Tacoma being down, not stranded because of it


The domestics left me high and dry multiple times, and I had to use days off and weekends and holidays to repair the “cheaper to fix” trucks.

dimes add up to dollars.

 

My 2008 was lifted and it never sit correctly, had the taco lean bad, I watched marketplace and a guy had a brand new Tacoma off road that he immediately put on a camper and had to get new shocks and springs and sold me everything for a couple hundred and I’m back to stock height and no lean